say that the heat is not so oppressive as it is in summer in New
York and Philadelphia. The humidity is, of course, excessive, but
the rains are not so heavy and continuous in the wet season as in
many other tropical climates. The country had for a long time a
reputation for extreme salubrity. Since the small-pox in 1819,
which attacked chiefly the Indians, no serious epidemic had
visited the province. We were agreeably surprised to find no
danger from exposure to the night air or residence in the low
swampy lands. A few English residents, who had been established
here for twenty or thirty years, looked almost as fresh in colour
as if they had never left their native country. The native women,
too, seemed to preserve their good looks and plump condition
until late in life. I nowhere observed that early decay of
appearance in Brazilian ladies, which is said to be so general in
the women of North America.

Up to 1848 the salubrity of Para was quite remarkable for a city
lying in the delta of a great river, in the middle of the tropics
and half surrounded by swamps. It did not much longer enjoy its
immunity from epidemics. In 1850 the yellow fever visited the
province for the first time, and carried off in a few weeks more
than four percent of the population. One disease after another
succeeded, until in 1855 cholera swept through the country and
caused fearful havoc. Since then, the healthfulness of the
climate has been gradually restored, and it is now fast
recovering its former good reputation. Para is free from serious
endemic disorders, and was once a resort of invalids from New
York and Massachusetts. The equable temperature, the perpetual
verdure, the coolness of the dry season when the sun's heat is
tempered by the strong sea-breezes and the moderation of the